Week 2: Historical Narratives

This week, I chose to focus on The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in Hollywood Cinema.

The contents of this collection mainly consisted of interviews from the same handful of people as well as transcripts of interviews. There were also a few clips from different public events in the collection.

Some of the historical narratives in this collection might circle around the fact that Latinos have been historically underrepresented in the film/tv industry. This narrative might circle around the fact that Latinos usually play the exact same characters and have the same story lines in pretty much every role. Women tend to play sassy Latino characters who are often described as “spicy” in the actual film or tv program. Another stereotypical role Latin women tend to get is the role of a maid. Off the top of my head, I can name one movie that includes this stereotype. Maid in Manhattan portrays Jennifer Lopez as a maid who falls for a rich white male but encounter problems when he finds out she’s not a rich guest staying at the hotel she works in. Latin males also have a few stereotypical roles they play. They tend to be very masculine and harsh. Some roles they typically fall into are some form of landscapers or construction workers. Roles for younger latin males tend to be gang related where they are constantly getting into trouble.

I know it seems counterintuitive to include commentary from anyone other than a Latino but I feel as though if we got different perspectives from different people, this collection would be a lot more rounded out. Although all these account may be true, certain facts may be left out that a different perspective can bring in. Having only one side tell their story can create silences in the narrative itself. You would be able to truly see 100 years of the Latino image from other people such as directors, producers, etc.. Other sources I would need to fill those gaps would include more interviews from non-latinos and transcripts as well. To back up these stereotypes, I would include clips from movies depicting latinos as such.

Something I did notice the collection lacked was photographs. I think the collection would benefit greatly from the addition of photographs. Most of the video clips are just of interviews and public events, as I stated before, and I think having photographs as actual evidence of Latinos in the industry would provide more proof to those looking for it and not willing to take these actors for their word.